How to Write 锬 (tán) — Meaning “long spear (ancient weapon)”

Imagine a metal spear (钅) that is so long it has two fires (炎) burning at its tip. The double fire reminds you of the word 'tán' sounding like 'tan' in 'tandem' — two fires side by side for a long spear.

Start with the left radical 钅 (5 strokes:撇横横横竖提) then the right part 炎 (8 strokes: 点撇撇捺点撇撇捺). A common mistake is making the 炎 too tall or narrow — keep it balanced with the left side. The two '火' stacked should be the same size, not shrinking the top one.

锬 (tán) means a long spear, while 铐 (kào) means handcuffs or to handcuff, and 铑 (lǎo) is the chemical element rhodium. Visually, 锬 uses 炎 (two fires), 铐 uses 考 (examine/smash), and 铑 uses 老 (old). Their meanings are completely unrelated to weapons except for 锬.

锬 is very rare in modern Chinese and mostly appears in historical or archaeological texts about ancient weapons. You might encounter it in descriptions of ancient warfare or in classical literature, but it is not used in daily conversation. The word 锬头 (spearhead) is occasionally used metaphorically for the sharpest part of something.

Common words containing 锬 include: 锬头 (tán tóu) — spearhead; 长锬 (zhǎng tán) — Long spear; 铁锬 (tiě tán) — iron spearhead.